Our Mission & Beliefs

Our Purpose

We open people to the gospel by revealing God in science.

Our Approach

We use scientific advances to answer questions and identify new evidence of God’s existence, character, and the Bible’s reliability. We engage skeptics and cultivate communities where scholars and others learn to integrate science, theology, and philosophy so they can open the world of science to the gospel.

Our Invitation

We invite people seeking answers to questions about the Bible and its relationship to science to explore our resources. Many of these resources answer theological and philosophical questions, too. We invite you to explore and integrate the full breadth of scientific, theological, and philosophic answers we offer.

Our History

Reasons to Believe (RTB) was established in 1986 by world-renowned Christian astrophysicist, Dr. Hugh Ross. Initially a skeptic, Dr. Ross was later convinced by evidence that words of the Bible are trustworthy.

His search for truth began at age seven when he went to the library to find out why stars are hot. Physics and astronomy captured his curiosity and never let go. After completing his doctorate at the University of Toronto and postdoctoral research at the California Institute of Technology, Ross served on the ministry team at Christ Church Sierra Madre. Enthusiastic response to his scientific defense Scripture’s veracity—based on a breadth and depth of experience in both science and faith—drove him, in 1986, to launch Reasons to Believe.

From a tiny office in Sierra Madre, CA, and a small crew of volunteers, RTB quickly grew. In 1995 RTB unveiled the first Christian website which by now has expanded into a wellspring of articles, blogs, and videos. In 2003 Reasons Institute was launched—a premier provider of science apologetics courses. RTB is homebase to a number of communities, such as our scholar community, apologetics community, regional chapters, and Monthly Partners.

Over the years, a team of scholars has come alongside Hugh in this quest to show how science reveals God. Together these scholars have taken the gospel worldwide, bringing scientific evidence for the God of the Bible to more than a dozen countries on five continents. In July of 2022, Dr. Ross entrusted his CEO title and the organization’s leadership to one of his most accomplished colleagues, biochemist Dr. Fazale “Fuz” Rana.

Through the strength of its supporters and by the guidance and grace of God, RTB boldly continues to fulfill its calling to “Go into all the world and preach the Good News.” Its message remains unchanged: Nature and Scripture come from one and the same Source.

Our Impact

People tell us via letters, emails, social media posts, and in-person comments that RTB uplifts them in a variety of ways, thanks to the work of God’s Spirit. Some find fresh hope, others discover answers to doubts, some resolve their cognitive dissonance, others gain confidence to speak openly about their faith, and many learn they are not alone in their need to question and challenge rather than “just believe.”

Our Convictions

At a time when controversies abound and threaten to disrupt unity among Christ’s followers, we at Reasons to Believe want to affirm and clarify our spiritual, moral, and scientific convictions.

Conviction #1

God’s revelation in the words of Scripture and in the world of nature is wholly trustworthy and will always prove consistent when thoroughly understood because God is the Source of both.

Conviction #2

Scripture and nature deserve humble, careful, and prayerful investigation/interpretation. We must look at all available research data, making every effort to mitigate personal, political, and cultural biases.

Conviction #3

We are called by God to present our findings and engage with others—those who agree with our views and those who disagree—in earnest, respectful dialogue that supersedes our desire to argue or persuade.

Our Beliefs

We believe questions and dialogue are good because truth invites and withstands testing.

  • We believe the Bible (the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments) is the Word of God, written. As a “God-breathed” revelation, it is thus verbally inspired and completely without error (historically, scientifically, morally, and spiritually) in its original writings. While God the Holy Spirit supernaturally superintended the writing of the Bible, that writing nevertheless reflects the words and literary styles of its individual human authors. Scripture reveals the being, nature, and character of God; the nature of God’s creation; and especially his will for the salvation of human beings through Jesus Christ. The Bible is therefore our supreme and final authority in all matters that it addresses.

  • We believe in one infinitely perfect, eternal, and personal God, the transcendent Creator and sovereign Sustainer of the universe. This one God is Triune, existing eternally and simultaneously as three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All three persons in the Godhead share equally and completely the one divine nature, and are therefore the same God, coequal in power, nature, and glory.

  • We believe that Jesus Christ is both true God (the second Person of the Trinity) and true man (the Incarnate Son of God). We also believe in the great events surrounding Jesus Christ’s life and ministry, including his eternal preexistence, his virgin birth, his attesting miracles, his sinless life, his sacrificial death on the cross, his glorious bodily resurrection from the dead, his ascension into heaven, and his present work in heaven as High Priest and Advocate. He will return in glory to resurrect and judge all mankind.

  • We believe that the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, is indeed a Divine Person, coequal with the Father and the Son. We also believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit in salvation, a ministry which includes anointing and glorifying Christ, convicting men of their sin, bringing about the regeneration of lost sinners, and indwelling believers and empowering them for godly living and spiritual service.

  • We believe God created mankind in his image and likeness (having rational, moral, relational, and spiritual capacities) to fellowship with him and give him glory. Human beings are therefore the crown of God’s creation (possessing inherent dignity and moral worth), and thus distinct in kind from all other life on earth. Adam and Eve, the first human beings, chose to rebel against God and go their own autonomous way. As a result, all of mankind became separated from God, the image of God in man distorted, and the sinful nature passed on to all their progeny. Because of original sin (which includes both corruption and guilt), unregenerate human beings are incapable of pleasing or commending themselves to God. The only remedy for mankind’s pitiful predicament is redemption through faith in Jesus Christ.

  • We believe God has acted sovereignly to bridge the gap that separates people from himself. He sent his Son to bear the full penalty for humanity’s sin. He demonstrated himself to be God in that he was born of a virgin, performed miracles, and led a sinless life. Jesus Christ suffered and died in the place of sinners, thus satisfying the Father’s just wrath against human sin, and effecting true reconciliation between God and mankind for those who believe. In the atoning death of Christ, both God’s love and God’s justice are fully manifested. The righteousness of Jesus Christ in perfectly fulfilling the law of God has been graciously credited to all believers. Redemption is solely a work of God’s grace, received exclusively through faith in Jesus Christ and never by works of human merit.

  • We believe justification is a judicial act of God’s grace wherein he acquits a person of all sin and accepts that person as righteous in his sight because of the imputed righteousness of Christ. Justification is strictly a work of God’s grace, apprehended through faith alone and solely on the account of Christ.

  • We believe Jesus Christ rose bodily from the dead, conquering sin, death, and all the powers of Satan. The resurrection is God’s historical affirmation and vindication of Jesus Christ’s unique identity, mission, and message. Historical evidence of the resurrection is manifest in Christ’s empty tomb, his many resurrection appearances, and in the emergence of the Christian church. Jesus Christ now resides at the right hand of the Father, and lives to indwell all who recognize their sinfulness, who repent, and who turn their lives over to his authority.

  • We believe the church is the spiritual body of Jesus Christ (its Founder, Head, and Shepherd) and that it encompasses all true believers at all times and places. The function of the church is to carry out the Lord’s expressed will through the power of the Holy Spirit. One of the central purposes of the church is to preach the gospel in both word and life, the good news that humankind can find salvation from sin through faith in Jesus Christ. All people who have placed their faith (confident trust) in Jesus Christ for salvation belong to the church and are, thus, the people of God. This community of believers is made up of people who are neither perfect nor sinless, but by grace their lives are coming more and more under the control of the Holy Spirit, expressing his love, joy, peace, and other Christlike qualities.

  • We believe the Lord Jesus Christ will return to this earth personally, bodily, and visibly to establish his glorious reign in a kingdom that will never end. As the sovereign Lord, he will resurrect and judge all humanity. Those who have received his offer of life through the gospel will go to eternal blessings in heaven; those who have rejected it, to eternal conscious torment in hell. We look forward to the blessed hope, Christ’s Second Coming in glory.

  • We believe Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. And since Christ has commissioned his people, the church, to go into all the world to disciple, to baptize, and to teach everyone everywhere to obey his Word, we desire, by his grace, to play our part in reaching the world with the gospel of Christ.

  • We believe that the physical universe, the realm of nature, is the visible creation of God. It declares God’s existence and gives a trustworthy revelation of God’s character and purpose. In Scripture, God declares that through his creation all humanity recognizes his existence, power, glory, and wisdom. An honest study of nature—its physical, biological, and social aspects—can prove useful in a person’s search for truth. Properly understood, God’s Word (Scripture) and God’s world (nature), as two revelations (one verbal, one physical) from the same God, will never contradict each other.

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